Can we have a 'best money saving tip' thread please?

[PlateSpinningAtAllTimes]

Myself and DH have decided that we really need to have a frugal couple of years to start properly saving some money. I think the MSE website is good but can be a little overwhelming- so much info! What are your best tips for curbing spending?

My tip: meal plan, cook in bulk, freeze individual portions. Lasagne and pasta bake seem to freeze well and are cheap to make.

Did you know you can make laundry gloop and dishwasher detergent at home?

These are fab- yes to a mn book! Please, MNHQ?!
Will def make a cake for ds, plus thinking of doing rest of food homemade/budget. Eg homemade pizza. Any other yum but cheap party food ideas? I won't have loads of time in the morning so anything that can be made in advance gets extra points ;-)

Save 90% on airfresheners...

I did use Airwick Freshmatic's in several rooms, yes they are good, but expensive when you add it up over a month, ie: batteries and refills.

I've changed to DIY reed diffusers in a small glass or jar, buying the perfume liquid by the litre online, the cost has dropped from £44 a month to £4.50p :-)

A bar of soap lasts for weeks and costs about 30p. Shower gels cost pounds and last a few days. A bar of soap has a single wrapper and a shower gel has a HUGE amount of plastic (which you pay for).

Think of the environment!

MrsPaddy

Yes! To the frozen berries. I used to throw away out of date strawberries/berries etc - now I use them over months. Three huge frozen punnets for a fiver compared to £3 for a small punnet of fresh berries.

Do tell, fluffy...

Aldi
Aldi
Aldi
and a lidl bit of Lidl

Three minute showers. Set an egg timer. A three minute shower compared to a six minute one saved me over £200 one year.

I was very, very skint that year!

mrspaddy - once you've tried stardrops you wont go back, i promise! You'll be trying to convert people and everything! My friends think i work for them i go on about it so much!

I have another (small) tip- I have always washed my hair every 2 days since my teens. When dd was born I lost track of days a bit and didn't always remember/have time to wash my hair. I realised it didn't get greasy at all after 2 days! I figure that changing from 2 to 3 days should add up to savings on shampoo and conditioner over time.

2 questions, wise mners:

1. Any sanpro tips? Which own brands are good? Too freaked out by mooncups.
2. We're recently on a water meter- how can we reduce water use? Like the 3 min shower timer idea, although dd does that job nicely at the mo!

Red : Shower I spend ages in shower, you making me rethink that now. Was it a power shower or just a big standard electric one?!

Plate we've just gone onto a water meter since feb I used to love having deep baths.

PlateSpinning

Yep a 5p size of shampoo does the job of a 50p size and forget the 'wash and repeat' rule on the bottle. It was made up by manufacturers of shampoo.

Never buy training nappies. This is a cynical attempt by nappy manufacturers to keep your child in nappies for years! My nieces were still wearing them at ages 5 & 6 as they had never learnt to control their bladder at night and used them as nappies. A few wet knickers/sheets is a small price to pay.

Disclaimer

I understand that some children have bedwetting problems etc and need them but as soon as my nieces went to sleepovers they soon were soo embarrassed they lost them within a week. My sister was stunned and furious when she worked out how much she had spent on them over the years.

Plate for dan pro I would say get the brand you like best when on offer. I tend to buy as many pavks of sanitary towels as I can carry when my brand +(liletts)are on offer at boots or superdrug. I tried the aldi ones and they just did not compare

Will definitely swap bubble bath for hand wash, great idea!

One more idea - although i only part tested it this year is instead of having your heating set to come on twice per day to warm house morning and evening, leave it on constantly but at a much lower temp for the entire winter. Someone suggested this to me midway through the winter just gone and we changed from setting it at appx 22degs for a couple of hours in the morning and about 4hrs of an evening, to 15degs all day and night. It seems to have reduced energy consumption as ive just had my dd reduced by £10 per month as we are in credit, usually we owe them money after winter! Going to try it again this year.

If you do enjoy a take away cappuccino now and then people sell the macdonalds loyalty coffee cards on eBay. Works out at 50p a drink which compared to £2.20 for a costa that's pretty good.

We've just down sized our car. Cheaper on fuel and now only £35 for road tax each year, plus cheaper insurance. I'm estimating this will save us at least £600 - £700 a year.

Microfiber cloths or ecloths, clean without products. They are amazing.

^^ to the frozen berries, Aldi do them for much less a fiver. They are good for making smoothies!

Coffee: Waitrose card members get free tea or coffee in cafe or takeaway. Up to one per day per customer.

JR we do that, it keeps the house warmer more efficiently.

Sanpro, sainsbos smart price pads 14p for 10.

Laundry gloop, borax isn't needed

According to the Dripak site a tablespoon of borax and one of bicarb will clean dishes or vegan cow is using this recipe with success, you have to scroll down

Cos us mumsnetters are all just too right on to still use products that are tested on animals aren't we?

I cut up all our old t-shirts etc. that are too tatty to be donated. I use these rags over and over again, washing and drying them between uses. I only use kitchen roll for really nasty messes (or pets or food etc). I have saved a ton of money on kitchen rolls!
I do my own mani- and pedicures. Since my tools last me for years and polishes are so cheap each manicure is just pennies. My husband cuts his and his son's hair- again a nice amount saved each year.
When I go to the discount shops and see deodorant, shampoo, tights, etc on sale I buy as much as I can. I never pay full price for those things and I never have to do last minute dashes to the shops.
I buy little things on sale throughout the year that I add to my present box. Again, this saves so much money when someone's birthday comes up. This year I wanted to put a couple of hundred in DD's bank account for her birthday gift, so I will be dipping my hand into to gift box for make-up and earrings so she has something nice to unwrap :)
Both DD (17) and I go through a lot of shower gel, which never seems to be on sale. I have bought lovely smelling shampoo for pennies, which I pour into pump dispenser bottles and use as shower gels.
I found all these little things no bother at all to do...

Oh and one more thing- switch to using a mooncup!!

Trawl charity shops for curtains the same size as your existing ones and tack them behind. Thick curtains can save pounds a year in lost heating through draughty windows.

red but surely only when shut?